Method to Reduce Charge Buildup During High Aspect Ratio Contact Etch

ABSTRACT

A method of high aspect ratio contact etching a substantially vertical contact hole in an oxide layer using a hard photoresist mask is described. The oxide layer is deposited on an underlying substrate. A plasma etching gas is formed from a carbon source gas. Dopants are mixed into the gas. The doped plasma etching gas etches a substantially vertical contact hole through the oxide layer by doping carbon chain polymers formed along the sidewalls of the contact holes during the etching process into a conductive state. The conductive state of the carbon chain polymers reduces the charge buildup along sidewalls to prevent twisting of the contact holes by bleeding off the charge and ensuring proper alignment with active area landing regions. The etching stops at the underlying substrate.

RELATED PATENT DATA

This patent resulted from a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/018,254, filed Jan. 23, 2008, entitled “Methodto Reduce Charge Buildup During High Aspect Ratio Contact Etch”, namingGurtej S. Sandhu, Max F. Hineman, Daniel A. Steckert, Jingyi Bai, ShaneJ. Trapp, and Tony Schrock as inventors, which resulted from acontinuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/213,283,filed Aug. 26, 2005, entitled, “Method to Reduce Charge Buildup DuringHigh Aspect Ratio Contact Etch”, naming Gurtej S. Sandhu, Max F.Hineman, Daniel A. Steckert, Jingyi Bai, Shane J. Trapp, and TonySchrock as inventors, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,344,975, the disclosures ofwhich are incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to High Aspect Ratio Contacttrench etching and, in particular, relates to the reduction of chargebuildup along the trench sidewalls during High Aspect Ratio Contacttrench etching.

Successful construction of nano- and microstructures requires reliableand reproducible methods of production. One such nano- or microstructureis a contact hole, or trench. Contact hole structures are generallyfabricated using wet (crystal anisotrophy) or dry plasma(ion-bombardment anisotrophy) etching. One example of a contact holeformed by dry plasma etching is shaped by etching through an oxide layeroverlaying a silicon substrate using a hard photoresist mask depositedon top of the oxide layer, wherein the etching substantially stops onthe underlying substrate layer. Contact holes have a diameter, alsoknown as width, and a depth. The diameter is referred to as the featuresize and tends to decrease with increasing circuit density. The aspectratio is the ratio of depth to width and tends to increase as the widthdecreases. Modem integrated circuits are scaled with increasinglynarrower design rules. In addition, as the width of the etched featuresdecreases, the aspect ratio increases, necessitating a high aspect ratiocontact trench etch process.

Therefore, high aspect ratio contact (HARC) trench etching is one of thekey processes for forming contact hole interconnections. In typicalplasma etching, positive ions are accelerated to the substrate by aradio frequency (RF) biased electrode sheath providing directionalityfor forming vertical contact hole profiles. The substrate layer isdisposed on a chuck and placed within the gas chamber. The chuck acts asa bottom electrode and can be biased by a second RF power source. Duringplasma etching, plasma electrons, due to their random thermal motion,tend to impinge on the sidewalls near the top of the contact holecausing charge accumulation. Charge accumulation is one of the maincauses of charge build-up damage, etching stop, as well as micro-loadingeffects.

Carbon chain polymers are a result of the plasma etching. Conductivityof the sidewalls in the contact holes increases during the etchingprocesses resulting in carbon chain polymer buildup along the sidewallsof the contact hole. These deposited carbon chain polymers stronglyaffect the sidewall conductivity in the contact holes. The source of thecarbon that form the carbon chain polymers may be from the hardphotoresist mask, from the carbon source plasma etching gases, or fromthe oxide layer itself. Over the course of the etch process, the bottomof the contact hole charges positively while the sidewalls chargenegatively, thereby creating undesired local electric fields within thecontact hole.

During typical HARC etches, this charge buildup along the sidewalls of anarrow and deep opening can deflect the incoming ions causing changes inthe trajectory of those ions. This, in turn, results in the contact holetwisting during its formation and becoming non-vertical. Further,sidewall charging may also lead to complete etch stoppage in HARCcontact holes. Another related issue associated with the charge buildupalong the sidewalls is that the contact hole misses the active arealanding region in the underlying substrate due to the twisting of thecontact hole during its formation. Therefore, it is important to producevertically straight contact holes because straight sidewall profilesensure that the subsequently deposited metal material can properly fillthe etched feature and make suitable electrical contact with the activearea landing region.

Therefore, there is a need for a method to reduce charge buildup alongthe carbon chain polymer which forms along the sidewalls of the contactholes during HARC etching in order to produce substantially verticalcontact holes.

There is also a need for a method to produce substantially verticalcontact holes without shutting off the etch component of the HARCetching.

In addition, there is a need for a method which increases the stepcoverage of the carbon chain polymer buildup along the sidewall in orderto enable the charge buildup to bleed off.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method of highaspect ratio contact etching is used to etch a substantially verticalcontact hole in an oxide layer using a hard photoresist mask. The oxidelayer is deposited on top of an underlying silicon layer. The hardphotoresist layer is then deposited on the oxide layer. A plasma etchinggas is formed from a carbon source gas. Dopants, in the form of atoms,molecules and/or ions, are mixed into the carbon source gas. The dopedplasma etching gas etches a substantially vertical contact hole throughthe hard photoresist mask and oxide layers. The doped plasma etching gasdopes the carbon chain polymer formed and deposited along the sidewallsof the contact holes during the etching process into a conductive state.The conductive state of the carbon chain polymers reduces the chargebuildup along sidewalls of the contact holes and ensuring properalignment with active area landing regions to prevent twisting of thecontact holes by bleeding off the charge. The etching is stopped at theunderlying silicon layer.

Accordingly, it is a feature of embodiments of the present invention tointroduce dopants into the plasma etching gas in order to prevent chargebuildup along the sidewalls of vertical contact holes to avoid thetwisting of the vertical contact holes during formation and to ensureproper alignment with active area landing regions. Other features ofembodiments of the present invention will be apparent in light of thefollowing detailed description of the invention and accompanyingdrawings.

Other features of embodiments of the present invention will be apparentin light of the following detailed description of the invention andaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The following detailed description of specific embodiments of thepresent invention can be best understood when read in conjunction withthe following drawings, where like structure is indicated with likereference numerals and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a partially completed semiconductor device havingportions of the silicon substrate covered with an oxide layer accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates the partially completed semiconductor device of FIG.1 with an additional hard photoresist mask layer, as well asillustrating an etched contact hole according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates the completed semiconductor device according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates the polymer carbon chain buildup alongthe sidewalls of an etched contact hole;

FIG. 5 illustrates the twisting of the contact hole resulting from thecharge buildup along the polymer carbon chain that had been depositedalong the sidewalls of an etched contact hole;

FIG. 6 illustrates the possible contact hole misalignments with theactive area landing regions as a result of the twisting of the contactholes; and

FIG. 7 illustrates an overhead view of the possible contact holemisalignments with the active area resulting from the twisting on thecontact holes.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments,reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof,and in which are shown by way of illustration, and not by way oflimitation, specific preferred embodiments in which the invention may bepracticed. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilizedand that logical, mechanical and electrical changes may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates a partially completed semiconductor device. Thedevice comprises a substrate layer 10. An oxide layer 15 is deposited ontop of the substrate layer 10. The substrate layer 10 is typicallycomprised of silicon, silicon oxide or any other suitable material knownin the art. The oxide layer 15 can be comprised of borophosphosilicate(BPSG), tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS), phosphorous-doped silicate glass(PSG) or any other suitable oxide material.

FIG. 2 illustrates the partially completed semiconductor device of FIG.1 with an additional hard photoresist mask layer 20 deposited on theoxide layer 15. The hard photoresist mask 20 comprises transparentamorphous carbon or any other suitable material known in the art. Thepreferred amorphous carbon layer is transparent in the visible lightrange and is formed with a thickness that does not substantially affectthe reading of the alignment marks on the device to allow for the properalignment and etching of the contact holes. The visible light rangeincludes any light having a wavelength between about 400 nm and about700 nm. The amorphous carbon layer has a substantially low absorptioncoefficient of between about 0.15 and about 0.001 at a wavelength of 633nm.

The device comprising the substrate layer 10 and oxide layer 15 isplaced in a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) chamber.The amorphous carbon hard photoresist mask layer 20 is then depositedover the oxide layer 15 in the PECVD chamber. The temperature of thechamber is set to range from about 200° C. to about 500° C. A processgas including propylene (C₃H₆) is introduced into the chamber at a flowrate of about 500 standard cubic centimeters per minute (sccm) to about3000 sccm. An additional gas including helium may be introduced into thechamber at a rate of about 250 sccm to about 1000 sccm. At least oneother hydrocarbon gas can be used in the process gas such as, forexample CH₄, C₂H₂, C₂H₄, C₂H₆, and C₃H₈. Helium can also be used incombination with at least one these hydrocarbon gases. During theprocess, the chamber is subjected to a RF power and a pressure. Theradio frequency is set between about 450 Watts and about 1000 Watts. Thepressure can range from about 4 Torr to about 6.5 Torr. After removalfrom the PECVD chamber, the hard photoresist mask layer 20 is thenpatterned to define the active area landing regions for the contactholes 25 to be etched into the oxide layer 15.

The partially completed semiconductor device is illustrated in FIG. 2 ashaving a contact hole 25. The contact hole 25 is etched using a HARCplasma gas etch through the oxide layer 15 following the pattern definedon the hard photoresist mask 20 within a plasma gas processing chamber.The HARC etchants react with the material of the oxide layer 15 to etchthe contact hole 25 into the oxide layer 15. The HARC etchingsubstantially stops upon reaching the underlying substrate layer 10.

FIG. 4 illustrates a polymer carbon chain 35 that can build up and bedeposited along the sidewalls of an etched contact hole 25 during HARCtrench etching. The conductivity of sidewalls in the contact hole 25 isincreased during the etching processes resulting in a charge buildup 30on the polymer carbon chains 35 along the sidewalls of the contact hole25. The source of the carbon atoms of the carbon chain polymer 35 mayresult from carbon in the hard photoresist mask 20, from carbon in thesource plasma etching gases, or from carbon impurities in the oxidelayer 15 itself. During a typical HARC trench etch, the charge buildup30 along the sidewalls of the narrow and deep opening of the contacthole 25 can deflect the incoming etching ions causing changes in thetrajectory of the ions. Such a changed trajectory results in the contacthole 25 twisting, or bending, away from a straight vertical position. Anexample of the twisting of the contact hole 25 is illustrated in FIG. 5.The hard photoresist mask 20 and carbon chain polymers 35 are thenremoved by dry stripping and wet cleaning. The contact hole 25 is thensubsequently filled with a conductive metal material 50 to form aconductive path to the active area landing region on a underlyingsubstrate 10 as illustrated in FIG. 3.

A non-vertical contact hole 25 can create many problems. FIG. 6illustrates one such problem associated with contact hole 25 twisting.FIG. 6B illustrates the preferred alignment of the contact hole 25 withthe active area landing region 40 in which there is no twisting of thecontact hole 25 ensuring that the subsequently deposited conductivemetal makes suitable contact with the active area landing region 40.FIG. 6A illustrates a twisted contact hole 25 that makes only partialcontact with the active area landing region 40 resulting in an imperfectcontact between the subsequently deposited conductive metal and theactive area landing region 40. Finally, FIG. 6C illustrates a contacthole 25 that is so twisted that it completely misses the active arealanding region 40. In FIG. 6C, no contact is made between the contacthole 25 and the active area landing region 40 resulting in the failureof the subsequently deposited conductive metal to make a suitablecontact with the active area landing region 40.

FIG. 7 provides another view of the problems associated with contacthole twisting. FIG. 7 illustrates an overhead view of the active area 45and the importance of etching substantially vertical contact holes 25.When there is proper alignment and no twisting of the contact hole 25,the contact holes 25 are positioned within the active area 45. However,when twisting occurs, the contact holes 25 twist away from the activearea 45 and subsequently fall outside the active area 45. These contactholes 25 do not make contact with the active area 45 when the contactholes 25 are subsequently filled with conductive metal.

The problems of contact hole twisting due to charge build up along thesidewalls associated with HARC plasma etching can be minimized by theaddition of dopants in the form of atoms, molecules, and/or ions to theHARC plasma etching gas. The carbon chain polymers are doped withappropriate dopants such as iodine during the plasma gas etching of thecontact holes. At least a portion of the dopants in the plasma etchstream lodge on the sidewalls and the carbon chain polymers that buildup on the sidewalls. Doping the carbon chain polymers increases theirconductivity and aids in bleeding off the charge build up along thecarbon chain polymers. When the carbon chain polymer is conductive, itallows for dissipation of the charge into the plasma. By bleeding offthe charge build up along the sidewalls, the incoming etching ions fromthe doped plasma etching gas will not be deflected, and the sidewalls ofthe contact hole will be substantially vertical.

The HARC plasma etching source gas is typically a hydrocarbon fluoridesuch as, for example, CH₂F₂, C₄F₈; CHF₃; C₂F₆, C₂HF₅; CH₃F; or C₃H₃F₅,C₄F₈ that has been mixed with oxygen gas. The dopants can be introducedinto the HARC plasma etching gas as part of a molecule such as, forexample, H₁ and CH₃I in the case where iodine is the dopants. Thedopants are introduced into the dry etch chamber during the HARC plasmagas etching. Other dopants, such as, for example carbon (C), potassium(K), calcium (Ca), phosphorus fluoride (PF₆), boron fluoride (BF₃),chloride (Cl) and arsenic fluoride (AsF₆) can also be used. The stepcoverage of the carbon chain polymer along the sidewalls is increased tobetter enable the charge bleed off. The doping level is carefullycontrolled in order to ensure that the etch component of the HARC plasmaetching gas is not shut off. The dopants may be introducedintermittently, or pulsed, during the etch process.

It is noted that terms like “preferably,” “commonly,” and “typically”are not utilized herein to limit the scope of the claimed invention orto imply that certain features are critical, essential, or evenimportant to the structure or function of the claimed invention. Rather,these terms are merely intended to highlight alternative or additionalfeatures that may or may not be utilized in a particular embodiment ofthe present invention.

For the purposes of describing and defining the present invention it isnoted that the term “substantially” is utilized herein to represent theinherent degree of uncertainty that may be attributed to anyquantitative comparison, value, measurement, or other representation.The term “substantially” is also utilized herein to represent the degreeby which a quantitative representation may vary from a stated referencewithout resulting in a change in the basic function of the subjectmatter at issue.

Having described the invention in detail and by reference to specificembodiments thereof, it will be apparent that modifications andvariations are possible without departing from the scope of theinvention defined in the appended claims. More specifically, althoughsome aspects of the present invention are identified herein as preferredor particularly advantageous, it is contemplated that the presentinvention is not necessarily limited to these preferred aspects of theinvention.

1-43. (canceled)
 44. A method of high aspect ratio contact etching asubstantially vertical contact hole, the method comprising: forming alayer over an underlying substrate; forming a mask having an openingtherein over the layer; forming an etching plasma from acarbon-containing gas; etching said substantially vertical contact holeinto said layer through the opening in the mask with said etchingplasma, a carbon chain polymer building up on sidewalls of the openingduring said etching, and increasing conductivity of the carbon chainpolymer during the etching by addition of a component from the etchingplasma to the carbon chain polymer; and removing said mask and saidcarbon chain polymer buildup.
 45. The method of claim 44 wherein saidcomponent comprises iodine.
 46. The method of claim 44 wherein saidcomponent comprises at least one of carbon, potassium, calcium,phosphorus, boron, chlorine, and arsenic.
 47. The method of claim 44wherein the removing comprises dry stripping and wet cleaning.
 48. Amethod of etching an opening in material which is over an underlyingsubstrate, the method comprising: forming a mask having an openingtherein over material which is over an underlying substrate; forming anetching plasma with gas comprising carbon and fluorine-containingmolecules; and etching an opening into the material through the openingin the mask with the etching plasma, a carbon chain polymer building upon sidewalls of the opening during the etching, and increasingconductivity of the carbon chain polymer during the etching by additionof a component from the etching plasma to the carbon chain polymer, theadded component comprising at least one of carbon, potassium, calcium,phosphorus, boron, chlorine, and arsenic provided within the etchingplasma by a gas component other than the carbon and fluorine-containingmolecules.
 49. The method of claim 48 wherein the gas from which theetching plasma is formed comprises oxygen.
 50. The method of claim 48wherein the added component comprises carbon.
 51. The method of claim 48wherein the added component comprises potassium.
 52. The method of claim48 wherein the added component comprises calcium.
 53. The method ofclaim 48 wherein the added component comprises phosphorus.
 54. Themethod of claim 53 wherein the gas component comprising phosphoruscomprises PF₆.
 55. The method of claim 48 wherein the added componentcomprises boron.
 56. The method of claim 55 wherein the gas componentcomprising boron comprises BF₃.
 57. The method of claim 48 wherein theadded component comprises chlorine.
 58. The method of claim 48 whereinthe added component comprises arsenic.
 59. The method of claim 58wherein the gas component comprising arsenic comprises AsF₆.
 60. Themethod of claim 48 wherein the material comprise an oxide.
 61. Themethod of claim 48 comprising removing the mask and the carbon polymerchain buildup.
 62. The method of claim 61 comprising filling the openingwith conductive material after the removing.
 63. The method of claim 48wherein the etching is through the material to the underlying substrate.64. The method of claim 63 comprising stopping the etching at theunderlying substrate.
 65. The method of claim 48 wherein the opening isetched to have substantially vertical sidewalls.
 66. The method of claim48 wherein the gas component other than the carbon andfluorine-containing molecules is introduced into the etching plasmaintermittently during the etching.
 67. A method of etching an opening inmaterial which is over an underlying substrate, the method comprising:forming a mask having an opening therein over material which is over anunderlying substrate; forming an etching plasma with gas comprisingcarbon and fluorine-containing molecules; and etching an opening intothe material through the opening in the mask with the etching plasma, acarbon chain polymer building up on sidewalls of the opening during theetching, and increasing conductivity of the carbon chain polymer duringthe etching by addition of a component from the etching plasma to thecarbon chain polymer, the added component resulting from a gas componentother than the carbon and fluorine-containing molecules that isintroduced into the etching plasma intermittently during the etching.